Work machines, such as agricultural combines, often include removable components or attachments, such as a header for harvesting crops from a field. For some applications, such components, and headers in particular, are required to be installed and removed at isolated locations such as the boundary regions of large agricultural fields, often by a person working alone. In some instances, installation and removal must be done several times a day, for instance, wherein a farming operation comprises several parcels of land to be harvested, and the combine must be driven over roads or lanes from parcel to parcel, with the header removed. Additionally, the header must sometimes be installed and removed on uneven surfaces, which can place loads on the connecting apparatus to make it difficult to connect and disconnect.
Some known mechanisms for locking or latching a header to a feeder of a combine utilize an actuating cable connected between a handle and the latch pin of the mechanism, to enable remote actuation. An advantage of this is that it enables operating latching mechanisms located at the bottom of the feeder from a more convenient location, and operating latches on opposite sides of the feeder from a single location on one side. The known mechanisms typically operate by pushing on the cable to urge a latch pin into a receiver, and pulling on the cable to remove the pin from the receiver. Problems found with this arrangement, however, include that repeated pushing on the cable, particularly when required to force the latch pin into the receiver, weakens the cable over time. Another problem is that when the pin is stuck in the receiver, users sometimes apply tensile forces to the cable to free the pin which exceed the tensile strength of the cable, which can cause breakage thereof. Freeing a sticking pin can require moving the feeder and header, which is typically done using controls in the operator cab of the combine, and can require the user to climb to and from the cab one or more times to do so.
One solution to the cable breakage problem known to be utilized by other manufacturers, is to provide a shear pin between the actuator handle and the cable, which pin will break if subjected to a force some amount less than the tensile strength of the cable. However, a shortcoming of this solution is that if the shear pin is broken, it must be replaced to render the mechanism operable again, and the latch pin will still need to be freed.
Accordingly, what is sought is a cable actuated pin latching mechanism adapted for connecting a header to a feeder of an agricultural combine, which overcomes one or more of the problems and shortcomings set forth above, is simple and reliable in construction and operation, and is advantageous costwise.